8 THEBIGISSUE.ORG.AU 9–22 MAR 2018
“This is the most hazardous job.
It is the most undignified job, an
inhuman, barbaric practice. It is
worse than slavery.”
Bezwada Wilson, the leader of Safai
Karmachari Andolan (Sanitation
Workers Movement) in India, on
“manual scavenging”, the unprotected
cleaning of sewers and toilets by
members of the lowly Valmiki caste.
It is estimated 300 people have died
doing the work in the last year.
– The Guardian (UK)
“Governments are acting as if
they lack power, as if they lack
power to do things. Everything
is too hard. Everything that
needs to be done is too hard.
So, these days, if somebody in
the community, or it could be
in business, says ‘X needs to
happen’, the response is, ‘well
hang on that would be political
suicide.’”
National Australia Bank chairman
and former Treasury Secretary Dr
Ken Henry, on the need for leaders
who are prepared to tackle difficult
challenges, such as tax reform.
Without a sustainable ability to raise
tax, “government loses the capacity
to provide the infrastructure, the
education systems, the health systems,
the social support system, the social
welfare system that we have become
accustomed to for good reason – these
things underpin the living standards
we enjoy today”.
– The Sydney Morning Herald
“I really feel like – I honestly feel
this – it’s been such an honour to
embody a character that I would
look up to. And then, the icing on
the cake is that other people look
up to her too. She’s so who I wish
I could be.”
Yeardley Smith on being the voice of
Lisa Simpson for 30 years. We’d say
something like “Ay caramba!”, but
Lisa is the only Simpson without a
catchphrase. In one episode, where the
other characters take turns saying their
catchphrases before turning to Lisa,
she says, “If anyone needs me, I’ll be in
my room.”
– Vanity Fair (US)
“We ran a panel of experiments
to discover the best ratio of
chocolate, orange jam and
sponge. Whilst the most common
way to eat a Jaffa Cake is the ‘half
“Having a dog really says
something about you. It says you
can care for a creature, that you
can follow a schedule and get home
to feed it, that you can walk it and
love it and spend time with it.”
Dr Helen Fisher, a senior research
fellow at the Kinsey Institute in
Indiana, on research that suggests
people with dogs are perceived to be
more approachable, happier and more
empathetic.
– The New York Times (US)
HEARSAY
WRITER RICHARD CASTLES » CARTOONIST ANDREW WELDON
“Don’t think about the
pain; just think about
how good you look in
high heels.”
A young woman overheard
on a Saturday night by Jay,
of Mt Lawley, WA.
EAR2GROUND
PHOTOBYGETTY
THEY HAVE DIFFERENT
PERSONALITIES. I’M
WAITING FOR THEM TO
GET OLDER SO I CAN
SEE IF THEY HAVE HER
BROWN EYES AND HER
SERIOUSNESS.
Entertainer Barbra Streisand on revealing the news that her
dogs, Miss Violet and Miss Scarlett, were cloned from cells taken
from her beloved dog Samantha (left), who died aged 14 in 2017.
– Variety (US)